Oil burner



June 3, 1924- A. E. BORNEMEIER 0 I L BURNER Filed Dec. 31. 192;;

ATTORNE Patented June 3, 1924.

UNITED STATES ARTHUR E BORNEMEIER, 0F LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

OIL BURNER.

Application filed December 31, 1923. Serial No. 883,712.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. BonNn- MEIER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil Burners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to oil burners of the kind which comprise a base, generator head and cap, the assembled device being adapted for use in a stove or furnace whereby fuel oils may be substituted for the fuels ordinarily used in the furnace or stove.

In oil burners of this type it has heretofore been difficult to maintain the proper degree of temperature in the generator head. The best results are obtained if an intense heat is maintained at the periphery and if the central portion of the generator head is kept at a considerably lower temperature, but it has been found diflicult in practice to obtain this condition and to maintain it under all of the varying circumstances found in connection with the operation of a furnace. ()ne of the objects of my invention is therefore the provision of a generator head in which both the central and peripheral portions will be kept at the proper temperatures.

It has also been found that the draft of chimneys and furnaces varies between rather wide limits, and the best results can be obtained only when the oil burner is properly positioned with reference to the draft of the articular furnace in which the installation 1s to be made. Another of the objects of my invention is the provision of means for vertically adjusting the enerator head with reference to the base 0 the burner whereby the generator head will be placed in the most advantageous horizontal position with refer-' ence to the draft.

A third object of my. invention is the provision of means for levellin the generator head and for readily restoring the level if it becomes accidentally disturbed. Other objects of my invention will be mentioned 1 in the description following.

Referring now to the drawings forming part of my application, and in which like numerals refer to like parts in the descrip tion.

Figure 1 is a plan View of the base of my oil burner.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the generator head of my oil burner.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the heat defleeting disc which I secure to the under side of my generator head.

Figure 4 is a plan view oil burner.

Figure 5 is a median vertical sectional view of my assembled burner.

In burners of this type, there are three main parts: base 10, generator head 11, and cap 12. The oil inlet pipe 13 conducts the fuel oils from the reservoir to the top of the generator head, where it is spread into thin films which flow under the cap toward the periphery of the generator head. The oil in its passage toward the periphery of the gen erator head becomes vaporized, and at the periphery it merges with a current of air coming from underneath and the mixture is ignited. When the burner is installed in a stove or furnace, the flame is spread by the cap and is directed a ainst the drum of the stove or furnace. Tie flame however also heats the cap which thus supplies the heat for vaporizing the oil on the generator head.

Such burners are usually installed in furnaces with the base resting on the grate of the furnace, and the annular space surrounding the base is hermetically sealed with a suitable cement. The base is provided with openings 14 for the passage therethrough of the air required for the combustion of the oil vapor. The base has also an overflow opening which is connected with an overflow pipe 15, this latter pipe having an automatic shutoff device (not shown) for the purpose of shutting off the supply of oil should the flame become accidentally extinguished. The cap 12 functions to confine the oil and to vaporize the oil. It has a greater diameter than the generator head in order to serve effectively as a flame spreader. It is pro vided with a handle 16 of any suitable form for convenience when removing the cap as when making adjustments of the parts.

The description thus far relates to all burners of the general type and it includes of the cap of my only those structural features which are necessary to an understanding of my improvements, which relate mainly to the base and to the generator head.

The base 10 has a raised central portion. which extends upwardly and which is surrounded by an annular concave portion. The

raised central portion is provided with an aperture for receiving the stern oi generator head. The sides of theraised' centrail portion have openings 14 adapted to serve as passages for the air which is to be mixed with the oil vapor befo're ignition. For reasons which will be more fully explained later in the description, the parts are so He signed that the currents of air will not be vertical where they would tend to strike the generator head at its central portion. The currents of air are in fact deflected toward the periphery of the generator head where the oil vapors emerge just before ignition. The position of the openings 14: in the sides of the raised portion and the bevelled edges of the openings both tend to deflect the air currents toward the periphery of the generator head. The volume of air entering through the openings 14 is governed by the size of the openings and by the character of the draft, since the draft'may be the nati'iral draft of the chimney or it may be forced, but in actual practice I prefer in most cases to make the openings relatively lurger than those shown in my drawings.

The generator head has a raised central: portion 23 which serves both as an anchor for the cap 12 and as an elevated oil distributor. The upper surface of the raised central portion 23 is provided with radial notches 24 which communicate with notches 25 on the sides of the raised central portion, these notches serving as channels for the passage of the oil to the main portion of the generator head. Surrounding the raised central portion is an annular basin 17 for (letaining the oil to slightly warm the oil before it is distributed to the radial grooves 18. Each of these grooves has branches 18* be ginning at or near the point where the oil is converted into a heavy va'pcnu The branch grooves serve to bring about a more even distribution of the vapor, but they also permit the expansion of the oil vapor under the hottest portion of the cap which results in the rapid superheatiug of the oil vapor before it comes into contact with the air. At the periphery of the generator head there is an annular groove 19 having therein an asbestos wick 19. The cap 12 rests on this wick so that the oil vapors must pass through the wick. This slightly arrests the movement of the oil vapor and holds it niomentarily at the point where the heat is greatest.

On the under side of the generator head is mounted the disc 20 shown in Figures 3 and 5. The disc 20 is circular and its dianr eter is substantially equal to that of the gen erator head. It has a central aperture 26 whereby it fits snugly on the downwardly extending stem 27 of the generator tread. Thestem has a shoulder 27 which as shown in Figure 5, lies in the same plane as the lower peripheral edge of the generator head. The stem below the shoulder is externally screw tln'eaded, and the disc 20 is held in place by means of the nut 21. The preferred arran enient is that shown in Figure 5 with the disc locked tightly against the outer andrlower edge of the generator head and against the shoulder. In some cases however it is desirable to have the disc spaced slightly from the generator head. In either case the disc provides an enclosed or partly enclosed cavity underneath the generator head. the cavity being tilled with dead or relatively quiet air. The disc is preierably made from bright tin or from some similar material having a'good heat reflecting surface.

The disc 20 tends to bring about the proper heat distribution in the generator head. The heat from the cap is directed downwardly a ainst the upper surface of the generator read. This heat is most intense at the periphery, the temperature decreasing gradually toward the center. This arrangement brings about the gradual vaporization of the oil and the final superheating of the oil vapor. In the prior oil burners of this type the air coming from underneath is directed upwardly against the central portion of the under surface of the generator head where it is permitted to spread out toward the periphery. These currents of air because of external conditions. tend to fluctuate and to eddy, thus producing rapid changes in temperature on the generator head. The result is that the vaporization of the oil is not uniform and under such circumstances carbon tends to accumulate. In my oil burner I guard against this difficulty by arranging the openings 14 so as to direct the air currents toward the periphery of the generator head rather than toward its central portion and I further insulate the central portion of the generator head against any possible stray currents which might otherwise strike the central portion. There being no erratic fluctuations in the temperature of my generator head, it remains only to properly adjust the various parts in order to guard against the troubles encountered in the prior burners.

It is customary to install these burners with the base resting on the grate of the stove or furnace. In the prior burners the generator head is at a fixed distance above the base and is time at a fixed distance above the grate, regardless of the variations in draft in the chimney or furnace. The draft in an individual chimney is fairly constant in so far as it afi'ects the operation of the burner but wide difierenees exist in difl'erent chimneys. For this reason I have found it desirable to provide for the vertical adjust ment of the generator head so that it can be placed in the most advantageous position in each particular installation. As before 1,49e,u is

stated, the screw-threaded downwardly-projecting stem of the generator head passes through the aperture of the central raised portion of the base. The generator head is locked in place by means of two nuts 22 on the stem, one above and the other under neath the base. The stem is long enough to permit of considerable vertical adjustment and the nuts 22 are adapted to lock it in any position of adjustment. In the installation of the oil burner it is only necessary to adjust the generator head to the most desirable position in the particular furnace, no further attention being required after this adjustment has been properly made.

One of the difiiculties encountered in the installation of burners of this type is the accurate levelling of the generator head, especially if the furnace grate is not perfectly level. My burner is however so constructed that its levelling is a simple matter. The nuts 22 bear against opposite surfaces of the base and the arrangement is such that when the base is level the generator head will be level. When however the base is not level, it is only necessary to insert bevelled washers, split washers, or shims between the nuts 22 and their bearing surfaces.

Having thus described my invention in terms which will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. An oil burner comprising a base, a generator head above said base, and a cap above said generator head, said generator head having a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface and being also provided with means for delivering fuel oils to its upper surface at the topmost point thereof, the upper surface of said generator head being also provided with radial grooves for conducting the oil toward the periphery of the generator head, the upper surface of the generator head being also provided with an annular groove at the periphery thereof, and an asbestos wick in said annular groove, the arrangement being such that the oil becomes vaporized in the radial grooves and the vapor thus formed must pass through the asbestos wick before being mixed with air.

2. An oil burner comprising a base, a generator head above said base, and a cap above said generator head, said generator head having a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface and being also provided with means for delivering fuel oils to its upper surface at the topmost point thereof, the upper surface of said generator head being also provided with means for conducting the oil toward the periphery of the generator head whereby the oil will be vaporized in its passage under the heat of the cap, a disc for closing the cavity in the under side of the generator head, and means for conducting air from underneath the burner to the vaporized oil, said last named means deflecting the air currents directly towards the periphery of the generator head.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR E. BORNEMEIER. 

